April 30, 1938: The Hat-Eater's Final

Thomas Woodrooffe -- with hat intact.

April 30, 1938: The Football Assocation Cup Final is held at Wembley Stadium in West London. Both teams are from the North of England.

Huddersfield Town, of West Yorkshire, had won the Football League in 1924, '25 and '26; finished 2nd in 1927, '28 and '34; won the FA Cup in 1922; and lost in the Final in 1920, '28 and '30. So they were a team that had seen greatness recently.

But Preston North End, of Lancashire, had the greater history. In 1888, they reached the FA Cup Final. The following season, 1888-89, was the 1st season of the Football League, and they went unbeaten in 22 games, 18 wins and 4 draws, earning them the nickname "The Invincibles." As the League season was lengthened, there has only been one "Invincibles" since, the 2003-04 Arsenal team that had 26 wins and 12 draws in 38 games.

Preston also won the FA Cup in 1889. Thus, in the 1st season that it was possible, they won the League and the Cup, which became known as "The Double." They won the League again in 1890, and finished 2nd in 1891, '92, '93 and 1906. They didn't reach the Cup Final again until 1922, losing to Huddersfield. They lost it again in 1937, to North-East team Sunderland.

Managed by Clem Stephenson, Huddersfield had a Scottish centre forward, Willie MacFadyen. (That's correct: Not "MacFayden.") Otherwise, they fielded an entirely English lineup, captained by centreback Alf Young, and including former Arsenal star Joe Hulme. In contrast, Preston, managed by James Taylor (a very common name), had only 4 Englishmen and 7 Scotsmen, including their Captain, centreback Tom Smith (also a very common name, especially in British "football"), and right halfback Bill Shankly, who would later manage Liverpool FC to glory.

This was the 1st FA Cup Final to be broadcast on television. Thomas Woodrooffe called the match for the BBC. But there wasn't much action for him to call, and after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, the game was 0-0. Extra time was played, and almost used up. With 1 minute to go, plus whatever stoppage time there would have been -- probably only 1 more minute -- Woodrooffe said, "If there's a goal scored now, I'll eat my hat."

Famous last words: Right after he said that, Preston inside forward George Mutch was fouled in the penalty area, and referee Jimmy Jewell properly awarded Preston a penalty. The validity of the call has never been seriously questioned: Huddersfield fans have not moaned about being "robbed" ever since. I've seen the film: The penalty was properly given. Mutch took the penalty himself, and scored. Preston won, 1-0, and Captain Smith was handed the Cup by King George VI.

George Mutch

At a banquet a few days later, Woodrooffe was served a cake in the shape of a hat, allowing him to keep his word. This was broadcast on the BBC television "programme" Picture Page.

Both teams have struggled since, only rarely seeing the glory of the top flight. Huddersfield haven't won a major trophy since 1926, and haven't reached the Cup Final again since 1938. Preston have, losing it in 1954 and '64. They've also finished 2nd in the League in 1953 and '58. But their last major trophy has been the Football League War Cup in 1941.

Woodrooffe lived until 1978; Mutch, until 2001. Left back Bobby Beattie was the last survivor of the 1938 Preston team, living until 2002.

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April 30, 1938 was a Saturday. This was also the day that the 1st cartoon with Bugs Bunny in it premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

Elsewhere in English soccer, Arsenal beat Liverpool, 1-0 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury in North London. A week later, Arsenal beat Manchester-area team Bolton Wanderers, and won the Football League title.

And these games were played in America's major league baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 8-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Spurgeon "Spud" Chandler outpitched Emil "Dutch" Leonard. Red Rolfe went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Lou Gehrig went 0-for-5. Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-3.

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3-1 at the Polo Grounds. Carl Hubbell outpitched Van Lingle Mungo. Mel Ott went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Boston Bees beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 16-11 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. After a horrible 1935 season, the Braves changed their name to the Bees, but it didn't catch on, and they switched back in 1941. For the Bees, Gene Moore went 2-for-5 with a home run, a walk and 4 RBI, Tony Cuccinello went 3-for-4 with 2 walks and 3 RBIs, Ray Mueller went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Harl Maggert pinch-hit a grand slam. For the Phillies, Chuck Klein went 4-for-6 with 2 RBIs, and Hersh Martin went 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-3 at League Park in Cleveland. Hank Greenberg went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Roy "Peaches" Davis pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 3-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ted Lyons allowed 9 hits, but kept the shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* The Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox were rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 17. The Red Sox swept, 4-3 and 5-0. Joe Heving pitched a 7-hit shutout in the nightcap. Jimmie Foxx went 3-for-7 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs over the 2 games.